Workspace Provider Convene Signs Leases for Two Locations in DC

New York-based flexible workspace provider Convene has inked deals for its first two locations in Washington, D.C.—Terrell Place in Penn Quarter and Hamilton Square in the East End, Commercial Observer has learned.

Convene signed a 15-year lease for 72,370 square feet of space at Terrell Place, located at 575 7th Street NW, with landlord Beacon Capital Partners, according to a Convene spokesman. The firm signed a 14-year lease for 79,849 square feet at Hamilton Square, located at 600 14th Street NW, with CommonWealth Partners. The Convene spokesman would not provide the asking rent at the two properties.

Michael Burke, the vice president of real estate and development at Convene, told CO that the company expects to see a strong demand for its services in D.C. “Our Nation’s Capital is a place where people come from all over the world to meet and work. The market has unique economic drivers and Convene’s full-service platform is well-positioned to drive value to the needs of an array of D.C. businesses,” he said.

Burke added that there’s “long-term value” in both locations as each building “offers unique physical characteristics that are hard to replicate in D.C.”

Founded in 2009, Convene specializes in creating spaces to meet and host events inside of Class A office buildings. There are 23 Convene locations in the U.S. including two in Northern Va., at 1201 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn and 1800 Tysons Boulevard in McLean.

The Washington locations are the first in the D.C. region to also offer Convene’s “WorkPlace” concept—turnkey suites with flexible lease terms from 12 to 36 months for teams of 10 to 300 people, according to the Convene spokesman.

Jonathan Wellborn of Avison Young, who did not return CO’s request for comment, represented Convene on both deals. Beacon Capital Partners was represented by JLL, while CommonWealth Partners was represented by CBRE, according to the Convene spokesman, who did not disclose the names of the JLL and CBRE brokers on the deals.